Cutover mechanisms for strand-reeling installations



Aug. 28, 1962 w. A. JOHNSON 3,051,403

CUTOVER MECHANISMS FOR STRAND-REELING INSTALLATIONS Filed Jan. 9, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTOR/VEY Aug. 28, 1962 w. A. JOHNSON 3,

CUTOVER MECHANISMS FOR STRAND-REELING INSTALLATIONS Filed Jan. 9, 1961 2 Sheets$heet 2 27 FIG. 4

l/V VE'N 70/? W. A. Joy/v50 ATTORNEY United S tea York Filed Jan. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 81,376 13 Claims. (Cl. 242-) The present invention relates generally to cutover mechanisms for strand-reeling installations, and more particularly to improved snagger devices for high-speed strand-reeling installations. Accordingly, the general objects of the invention are to provide new and improved apparatus of such character.

In the manufacture of strand and Wire, particularly insulated wire, it is necessary to provide reeling installations capable of continuously taking up an unbroken length of wire advancing from an extruder at speeds in excess of 2700 feet per minute. It is customary in such installations to provide a pair of spaced, axially aligned, rotary take-up reels, together with a traversing distributor for guiding the advancing wire back and forth across the winding surface of either reel. When one reel is full, or otherwise contains a predetermined length of wire, the distributor is indexed from a position opposite to the full reel to a position opposite to the other reel, which is then empty. In such installations, it is also common practice to provide an automatic cutover mechanism including a pair of toothed snagger plates mounted one for rotation with each reel adjacent to the inner end thereof. The snagger teeth are designed to catch and grip the wire extending between the reels after the distributor indexes and to carry the wire across a cutter mounted between the reels to sever the Wire so that wind ing may commence on the empty reel and the full reel may be removed.

A specific object of the invention is to provide improvements in such cutover mechanisms so as to facilitate the snagging of the wire, and to inhibit any tendency for the wire to become disengaged from the snagger teeth,

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved snagger arrangement whereby the wire will be forced deeply into a space between a snagging finger and a co-operating clamping plate and Will be anchored securely therebetween, yet whereby the wire so captured may readily be disengaged when desired.

The foregoing and other objects are accomplished, according to certain features of the invention, by provid ing a snagging finger designed for attachment to a takeup reel for rotation therewith and projecting in the direction of rotation, together with a clamping member mounted radially beneath the finger and co-operating therewith to define a converging passage therebetween which a strand enters during a snagging operation. The clamping member and finger are resiliently biased relatively toward each other to a position where a rear portion of the outer surface of the clamping member engages a rear portion of the inner surface of the finger. One of the clamping-member and finger elements is provided with a transverse notch across the rear portion of its strand-engaging surface. With this arrangement, the strand being snagged forces the clamping member and finger slightly apart permitting the strand to enter the notch, after which the clamping member and finger are resiliently urged together to clamp the strand securely within the notch.

According to other features of the invention, a roughened strand guide is mounted between the take-up reels and is designed to engage the strand as the distributor indexes so as to exert a frictional drag on the strand and thereby force the strand more deeply into the snagger atent tooth than would otherwise be the case, to provide better anchoring for the strand and to prevent disengagement of the strand from the snagger.

Other objects, advantages and aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a strandreeling installation including a cutover mechanism according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section, taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of a composite curved guide member having roughened edges in accordance with certain principles of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary View of a snagger tooth and clamping plate arrangement in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view through a snagger tooth and clamping plate, taken generally along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a further enlarged view of the strand-engaging portions of the snagging finger and clamping plate shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a detail view of the inner, strand-engaging surface of the snagging finger, taken generally along the line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a detail view of the outer, strand-engaging surface of the clamping plate, taken generally along the line 88 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view through a snagger tooth and mounting plate, taken generally along the line 9-9 of FIG. 4.

General Arrangement Referring now in detail to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a generally conventional strand-reeling installation which is desig nated generally by the numeral 11. The installation 11 is designed for taking up an advancing strand, such as a continuous length of insulated wire 12 being fed at high speed from a plastics extruder by a capstan, alternately on a pair of rotary take-up reels designated generally by the numerals 13 and 14. The reels 13 and 14 are mounted in spaced, axially aligned, relationship and are rotated, respectively and independently, by a pair of drive motors 16 and 17.

A traversing distributor 18 of any conventional construction is provided for guiding the wire 12 back and forth across the winding surface of either one of the take-up reels 13 or 14, so that the wire winds in a plurality of layers of closely packed helical turns until that particular reel is filled or otherwise contains a predetermined length of wire thereon. The full condition is usually sensed by a footage counter (not shown) which actuates an indexing mechanism, designated generally by the numeral 19, for moving the distributor 18 to the right or left as viewed in FIG. 1 from a position opposite to the reel which is then full to a position opposite to the reel which is then empty. In FIG. 1 of the drawings, it should be assumed that the reel 13 has just been filled with a predetermined length of the wire 12, and that the distributor 18 has been indexed or cut over from right to left from the phantom-line position opposite to the full reel 13 to the solid-line position opposite to the empty reel 14 in preparation for the beginning of the winding on a central core 21 of that reel.

In order to enable automatic cutover between the reels, the full reel 13 is equipped with a generally circular snagger plate designated generally by the numeral 22, which is releasably mounted on an inner flange 23 of the reel 13 for rotation therewith. The empty reel 14 is similarly equipped with a snagger plate 24 which is mounted on an inner flange 26 thereof. The snagger plates 22 and 24 are alike and, as viewed in FIG. 2, each plate includes a plurality of snagger teeth 27-27 extending beyond the periphery of the inner reel flanges 23 and 26 and projecting in the direction of rotation of the associated reel. The snagger plates 22 and 2-4 are designed to catch and grip the length of wire 12 extending between the reels at a predetermined time after the distributor 18 has been indexed from the full reel to the empty reel.

A cutter 28 is mounted between the reels 13 and 14 and is designed to sever the wire gripped by the snagger plates 22 and 24 as the snagger plates carry the wire therepast. After the wire has been cut, the empty-reel snagger plate 24 still grips the wire and carries the wire in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, around the core 211 of the empty reel; whereby, shortly after the cut ting operation the wire wraps around the core 21 of the empty reel and begins to wind thereon in conventional fashion.

' As is fully disclosed in a related copending application of H. R. Jacobs, Jr., Serial No. 5,015, filed January 27, 1960, now US. Patent 2,971,707, issued February 14, 1961, a composite curved guide member 29 is secured to the top of a housing, designated generally by the numeral 30, for the take-up assembly and is centered mid- 'way between the reels 13 and 14. The guide member 29 includes an upper curved guide 31 that covers both of the snagger plates 22 and 24, as viewed in FIG. 1, and supports the wire 12 clear of the snagger plates 22 and 24 during and shortly after the time that the distributor 1S indexes from the full reel 13 to the empty reel 14. The

guide member 29* also includes a lower curved guide 32 that extends from the upper guide 31 toward the cutter 2'8 and fits between the snagger plates 22 and 24. The lower guide 32 is so tapered that the wire is pulled 011 of the upper guide 31 and engaged first by the full reel snagger plate 22 and later by the empty reel snagger plate 24.

With this construction and arrangement, the wire 12 lays across the upper guide 31 for a short time after the distributor 18 shifts, as is illustrated in FIG. 1, and may not be engaged by either snagger plate so long as the wire rests completely on the guide 31. After the distributor 18 indexes, the wire 12 continues winding on the reel 13 at a relatively wide angle (FIG. 1) leading toward the inner iflange 23 thereof. As the wire 12 contacts the inner flange 23 of the full reel 13, the friction between the wire 12 and the rotating flange 23 pulls the wire off of the lower end of the upper guide '31 on the full reel side inwardly of the reel 13 until the wire 12 crosses the circle defined by the rotating snagger teeth 27-27.

When this occurs, the wire is substantially immediately engaged by an oncoming one of the snagger teeth 2727 of the full reel snagger plate 22, and this engagement pulls the wire 12 oflf of the upper guide 31 and onto the lower guide 32 on the empty-reel side, whereafter an oncoming one of the snagger teeth 27-27 of the empty-reel snagger plate 24 engages the wire 12 and pulls it around the empty reel 14. The wire 12 is then carried by both snagger plates 22 and 24 across the cutter 28 to sever the wire at the midpoint between the reels 13 and 14. With this construction including the composite curved guide 29', the engagement of the wire by the snagger plates is delayed, the wire is engaged by the snagger plates at points near the point of tangency between the wire and the cores of the reels, and the empty reel may be rotated substantially faster, than the full reel during the cutover operation so as to begin taking up the wire at line speed as soon as the cutover operation has been completed.

Improved Features With the foregoing general arrangement in mind, one important improvement of the present invention resides in the improved strand guide. construction illustrated particularly in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the strand-engaging surfaces 33-33 of the lower guide 32 are roughened, as is indicated by the numeral 34, in the vicinity of the points therealong where the strand is engaged by the snagger plates 22 and 24, so as to exert a frictional drag on the wire and thereby force the wire more deeply into the operative snagger tooth 27 than would otherwise be the case in order to provide better anchoring for the wire. This roughing, or knurling, of the operating side edges of the guide 29 may be done simply by filing with a thread file, and insures that the wire is securely clamped by the snagger teeth 2727 as the wire is picked up from the guide 29, particularly on the full-reel side. This provision of a roughing guide results in a substantial reduction in the number of times that the wire end escapes the fullreel snagger plate 22. When the wire end does escape the full-reel snagger plate 22, the wire end flies around loosely inside the take-up unit and both constitutes a safety hazard and also frequently damages the finished product. This provision also eliminates the need for an extra-strong brake for stopping the full reel, which brakes are expensive and critical items at high-speed operation.

Another important feature of the invention resides in an improved snagger construction illustrated particularly in FIGS. 4 through 9. Referring now to those figures, the improved snagger device includes a circular mounting plate 35, which is detachably secured to the inner reel flange 26 for rotation therewith. The mounting plate 35 is formed with a groove 36 (FIGS. 4, 5 and 9) extending around the periphery thereof for mounting the snagger elements.

A plurality of snagger teeth, preferably eight such teeth which are designated generally by the numerals 27-27, are secured to the mounting plate 35 at equally spaced intervals around the periphery thereof. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 9, each snagger tooth 27 is provided with a thin base portion 37, which is secured by rivets 38-38 within the groove 36 in the mounting plate 35. Each snagger tooth 27 is also provided with a wider finger 39, which projects from the base portion 37 in the direction of rotation of the reel (counterclockwise in the case of the reel 14 as viewed in FIG. 4).

A plurality of clamping members or plates 41-41 are mounted in the spaces between the base portions 37-37 of the snagger teeth 27-27, each clamping plate 41 being located radially beneath an associated one of the fingers 3939. Each clamping plate 41 is formed with a thin base portion 42 that is pivotably mounted near a forward end thereof (forward, meaning in the direction of rotation) within the groove 36 in the mounting plate 35 by means of a pivot pin 43. With this arrangement, a rear portion of the clamping plate 41 may swing toward and away from a rear portion of the associated finger 39. Each clamping plate 41 has an outer flange 44 which is coextensive in width with the finger 39, as is illustrated in FIG. 5.

A compression spring 46 is positioned between each clamping plate 41 and the mounting plate 35 for resiliently biasing the clamping plate 41 in a counterclockwise direction, as view in FIG. 4, about the pivot pin 43 to a position where a rear portion of its outer surface engages a rear portion of the inner surface of the associated finger 39.

The facing rear portions of each associated clamping plate 41 and finger 39 are flattened, as best illustrated in FIG. 6, along lines permitting extensive contact therebetween (over approximately the rear one-half of the outer surface of the clamping plate 41) when the clamping plate 41 is pivoted outward into engagement with the finger 39.

In contrast with this, the facing forward surfaces 47 and 48, respectively, of the clamping plate 41 and the finger 39 curve smoothly away from each other so as to define a converging passage 49 therebetween-Which a wire 12 enters as a particular snagger tooth 27 crosses the path of the wire laying over the lower curved guide 32 during each cutover between the two reels 13 and 14. The outer surface of each snagging finger 39 is convexly curved, as shown, and a flanged outer surface 51 of each snagger 'tooth 27 extending rearward from the finger 39 defines a smooth curve leading radially inward to a point beneath the finger 39 of the next rearward snagger tooth 27. The

of a depth less than the diameter of the wire 12. While the exact depth is not critical, 'a depth of about half of the Wire diameter is preferred for most applications. With this arrangement, the wire being snagged forces the clamping plate 41 slightly away from the finger 39 permitting the wire to cross the flattened surfaces and enter the notch 52, after which the spring 46 forces the clamping plate 41 into engagement with the wire 12 so as to clamp the wire securely within the notch 52.

As is best illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the forward wall of the notch 52 is formed by two projecting shoulders 5353 at the top and bottom (as viewed in FIG. 7) of the inner surface, While a short trough 54 i defined between the shoulders 5353. The trough 54 constitutes a longitudinal continuation of the transverse notch 52 and extends forward (to the left in FIGS. 6 and 7) along the finger 39 until it blends smoothly into the curving surface 48. This split shoulder construction is quite important because, as may be realized from the slanted wire position shown in FIG. 1, the wire 12 does not lay perpendicularly across the inner surface of the finger 39 just prior to snagging but rather assumes a position such as is indicated by 12A in FIG. 7. The angle is reversed when the transfer is from left to right in FIG. 1, rather than from right to left as exemplified in that figure.

Referring again to FIG. 7, only the upper portion of the wire (12-B) may enter the notch 52 and be held therein by the upper shoulder 53 while the lower portion is clamped between the clamping plate 41 and a high portion of the under surface of the tooth 39, that which extends forward from the lower shoulder 53. In practice, the wire may be snagged equally well in the partially captured position 12-13 just described or in a fully captured position 12C, where the Wire is fully within the transverse notch 52. In practice, one snagging position is as good as the other and both occur; however, the split shoulder construction makes for more sure snagging and requires that less force be exerted since the wire need only be received partially in the notch 52. This makes the construction less critical and reduces crossover failure. Once the wire 12 has been received partly of wholly within the notch 52, one or both of the shoulders 53-53 maintain the wire 12 within the notch 52 against disengagement widthwise of the wire (to the left as viewed in FIGS. 6 and 7) due to vibration or other causes.

The outer clamping surface of the clamping plate 41 is longitudinally serrated, as indicated by the numeral 56 in FIGS. 5 and 8, opposite to and on either side of the notch 52 so as to hold the snagged wire within the notch against disengagement longitudinally ofthe wire.

While the Wire 12 is clamped securely between the clamping plate 41 and the snagging finger 39 at all times while the reels 12 and 13 are rotating and after they have been stopped, the captured end of wire may readily be removed by an operator when desired. While the reels and snagger plates are rotating at high speeds, centrifugal force acts in assistance to the spring 46 to urge the clamping plates Fl-41 against the snagging fingers 39-39 and prevent the escape of the wire; however, the spring 46 insures that the wire end will continue to be gripped until 6 after the reel has come to a full stop and the operator desires to remove the end of the wire.

While the roughened guide construction described hereinbefore may well be utilized with other snagger constructions to provide better anchoring for the wire, it is highly preferred to use that construction in combination with the improved snagger construction just described in conjunction with FIGS. 4 through 9. With this combination, the roughened guide 32 exerts a frictional drag on the wire being snagged and thereby co-operates with the resiliently biased clamping plate 41 to insure that the wire will force the clamping plate 41 away from the finger 39 sufficiently to permit reception of the wire 12 within the notch 52 prior to the time that the snagger plates 22 and 24 carry the wire into engagement with the cutter 28.

While one specific embodiment of the invention has been described in detail hereinabove, it will be obvious that various modifications may be made from the specific details described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved snagger device for strand-reeling installations, which comprises a snagging finger designed for attachment to a take-up reel for rotation therewith and projecting in the direction of rotation, a clamping member mounted radially beneath the finger, and resilient means for biasing the clamping member and finger relatively toward each other to a position where a rear portion of the outer surface of the clamping member engages a rear portion of the inner surface of the finger, forward portions of the facing sufaces of the clamping member and finger diverging so as to define a converging passage therebetween which a strand enters during a snagging operation; one of the clamping-member and finger elements having a transverse notch across the rear portion of its strandengaging surface, the strand being snagged forcing the clamping member and finger slightly apart permitting the strand to enter the notch, after which the resilient means urges the clamping member and finger relatively together to clamp the strand securely within the notch.

2. A snagger device as recited in claim 1, wherein the facing rear surfaces of the clamping member and finger are flattened along lines such that, when the resilient means urges these elements into contact, the flattened surfaces make contact over a substantial area which extends on either side of the notch.

3. A snagger device as recited in claim 1, wherein the surface of the notched element at the forward end of the notch is provided with a pair of spaced shoulders con stituting the forward wall of the notch and defining a trough between the shoulders which extends longitudinally forward along that element and constitutes an extension of the notch.

4. A snagger device as recited in claim 1, wherein the one of the clamping-member and finger elements which is not notched is longitudinally serrated opposite to the notch to hold the snagged strand within the notch against disengagement longitudinally of the strand.

5. An improved snagger device for strand-reeling installations, which comprises a snagging finger designed for attachment to a take-up reel for rotation therewith and projecting in the direction of rotation, a clamping member mounted radially beneath the finger for movement toward and away therefrom, and resilient means for biasing the clamping member to a position where a rear portion of its outer surface engages a rear portion of the inner surface of the finger, forward portions of the facing surfaces of the clamping member and finger diverging so as to define a converging passage therebetvveen which a strand enters during a snagging operation; the finger having a transverse notch across the rear portion of its inner surface, the strand being snagged forcing the clamping member slightly away from the finger permitting the strand to enter the notch in the finger, after which the resilient means urges the clamping member toward the 7 finger and into engagement with the strand in the notch to clamp the strand securely within the notch.

6. An improved snagger device for strand-reeling installations, which comprises a circular mounting plate designed for attachment to a take-up reel for rotation therewith; a plurality of snagger teeth having base portions secured to the mounting plate at spaced intervals therearound, each snagger tooth having a finger projecting from the base portion in the direction of rotation; a plurality of clamping plates pivotably mounted on the mounting plate in the spaces between the base portions of the snagger teeth, each clamping plate being located radially beneath an associated one of the fingers and being pivoted near a forward end thereof so that a rear portion thereof may swing toward and away from a rear portion of the associated finger; and resilient means for biasing each clamping plate to a position where a rear portion of its outer surface engages a rear portion of the inner surface of the associated finger, forward portions of the facing surfaces of each associated clamping plate and finger curving away from each other so as to define a converging passage therebetween which a strand enters during a snagging operation; each finger having a relatively wide trans verse notch across the rear portion of its inner surface of a depth less than the diameter of the strand, the strand being snagged pivoting the clamping plate slightly away from the finger permitting the strand to enter the notch in the finger, after which the resilient means urges the clamping plate toward the finger and into engagtment with the strand in the notch to clamp the strand securely within the notch.

7. A snagger device as recited in claim 6-, wherein the facing rear portions of each associated clamping plate and finger are flattened along such lines that, when the resilient means pivots the clamping plate into contact with the finger, the flattened surfaces make contact over a substantial area which extends on either side of the notch; wherein the outer surface of each snagger tooth extending rearward from the finger defines a smooth curve leading radially inward to a point beneath the finger of the next rearward snagger tooth; and wherein each clamping plate is positioned adjacent to the rear end of the next forward snagger tooth and has an outer surface so curved as to constitute a substantially unbroken continuation of the curved outer surface of the next forward snagger tooth.

8. An improved snagger device for strand-reeling installations of the type having spaced, axially aligned, rotary take-up reels and a traversing distributor which is indexed from a position opposite to a full reel to a position opposite to an empty reel when it is desired to cut over between the reels, which snagger device comprises a pair of circular mounting plates secured one for rotation with each reel adjacent to the inner end thereof, each mounting plate having a groove extending around the periphery thereof; a plurality of snagger teeth secured to each mounting plate at equally spaced intervals around the periphery thereof, each snagger tooth having a thin base portion secured within the groove in the mounting plate and a wider finger projecting from the base portion in the direction of rotation; a plurality of clamping plates mounted in the spaces between the base portions of the snaggerteeth, each clamping plate being located radially beneath an associated one of the fingers, each clamping plate having a thin base portion which is pivotably mounted near a forward end thereof within the groove in the mounting plate so that a rear portion thereof may swing toward and away from a rear portion of the associated finger, each clamping plate having an outer surface which is coextensive in width with the finger; and a plurality of compression springs positioned one between each clamping plate and mounting plate for biasing each clamping plate to a position where a rear portion of its outer surface engages a rear portion of the inner surface of the associated finger, the facing rear portions of each associated clamping plate and finger being flattened along lines permitting extensive contact therebetween when the clamping plate is pivoted outward into engagement with the finger, forward portions of the facing surfaces of each clamping plate and finger curving away from each other so as to define a converging passage therebetween which a strand enters as a particular snagger tooth crosses the path :of the strand during cutover between the reels; each finger having a relatively wide transverse notch occupying most of the rear flattened surface thereof of a depth less than the diameter of the strand, the outer surfaces of each finger at the forward end of the notch being provided with a pair of spaced shoulders constituting the forward wall of the notch and defining a trough between the shoulders which extends longitudinally forward along the finger and constitutes an extension of the notch, the strand being snagged forcing the clamping plate slightly away from the finger permitting the strand to cross the flattened surfaces and enter the notch in the finger, after which the associated spring forces the clamping plate into engagement with the strand to clamp the strand securely within the notch, the outer clamping surface of each clamping plate being longitudinally serrated opposite to the notch so as to hold the snagged strand Within the notch against disengagement longitudinally of the strand.

9. A snagger device as recited in claim 1, wherein a roughened strand guide is provided for supporting the strand prior to reception between the snagging finger and the clamping member so as to exert a frictional drag on the strand which assists the strand in forcing the clamping member and finger apart to permit the strand to enter the notch.

10. An improved snagger device for strand-reeling installations, which comprises a snagging finger designed for attachment to a take-up reel for rotation therewith and projecting in the direction of rotation, a clamping member mounted radially beneath the finger, resilient means for biasing the clamping member and finger relatively toward each other to a position where a rear portion of the outer surface of the clamping member engages a rear portion of the inner surface of the finger, forward portions of the facing surfaces of the clamping member and finger diverging so as to define a converging passage therebetween which a strand enters during a snagging operation, means for mounting said snagging finger, clamping member, and resilient means to the reel, and a roughened strand guide for supporting the strand prior to reception between the snagging finger and the clamping member member so as to exert a frictional drag on the strand such that the strand being snagged forces the clamping member and finger slightly apart permitting the strand to be received between the rear portions of the clamping member and finger, after which the resilient means urges the clam-ping member and finger relatively together to grip the strand securely therebetween.

11. An improved snagger device for strand-reeling installations of the type having spaced, axially aligned, rotary take-up reels and a traversing distributor which is indexed from a position opposite to a full reel to a position opposite to an empty reel when it is desired to cut over between the reels, which snagger device comprises a pair of circular mounting plates secured one for rotation with each reel adjacent to the inner end thereof, a plurality of snagger teeth having base portions secured to the mounting plates at spaced intervals therearound, each snagger tooth having a finger projecting from the base portion in the direction of rotation; a plurality of clamping plates pivotably mounted on each mounting plate in the spaces between the base portions of the snagger teeth, each clamping plate being located radially beneath an associated one of the fingers and being pivoted near a forward end thereof so that a rear portion thereof may swing toward and away from a rear portion of the associated finger; resilient means for biasing each clamping plate to a position where a rear portion of its outer surface engages a rear portion of the inner surface of the associated finger, forward portions of the facing surfaces of each associated clamping plate and finger curving away from each other so as to define a converging passage therebetween which a strand enters during a snagging operation, each finger having a relatively wide transverse notch across the rear portion of its inner surface of a depth less than the diameter of the strand; and a curved guide plate mounted fixedly between the reels and positioned so as to support the strand prior to reception between the snagging finger and the clamping plate, the strand-engaging surface of the guide plate being roughened in the vicinity of the points therealong where the strand is engaged by the snagging fingers so as to exert a frictional drag on the strand such that the strand being snagged pivots the clamping plate slightly away from the finger permitting the strand to enter the notch in the finger, after which the resilient means urges the clamping plate toward the finger and into engagement with the strand in the notch to clamp the strand securely within the notch.

12. An improved strand-reeling installation of the type including a pair of spaced, axially aligned, rotary take-up reels; a traversing distributor for guiding a strand to either reel, the distributor being indexed from a position opposite to a full reel to a position opposite to an empty reel when it is desired to cut over between the reels; a pair of toothed snagger plates mounted one for rotation with each reel adjacent to the inner end thereof, the snagger teeth being designed to catch and grip the strand extending between the reels after the distributor indexes from the full reel to the empty reel; and a \sloping strand guide mounted between the reels and designed to engage the strand as the distributor indexes and then guide the strand inwardly of the reels along a surface of the guide to a position within the circle defined by the snagger teeth, whereafter an oncoming one of the snagger teeth engages the strand: the improved installation being characterized in that the strand-engaging surfaces of the guide are roughened in the vicinity of the points therealong where the strand is engaged by the snagger teeth so as to exert a frictional drag on the strand and thereby force the strand more deeply into the snagger tooth than would otherwise be the case to provide better anchoring for the strand.

13. The combination as recited in claim 12, wherein the strand guide constitutes a composite curved guide plate having an upper curved guide covering both of the snagger plates, and a lower curved guide extending from the upper guide between the snagger plates to a point within the circle defined by the snagger teeth, and wherein only the edges of the lower guide are roughened in the vicinity of the points therealong where the lower guide crosses the circle defined by the snagger teeth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

